Harry Potter and the Wraiths of Merlin
by ShallanorPyric
Summary: Harry Potter realizes that he has a dull life after defeating Voldemort. When a letter comes, inviting him to Merlin University, will he accept and experience the mystery and adventure that this new place has to offer?
1. Chapter 1

A/N: This is an AU. As such, I know that there are characters, according to canon, that should be dead are alive and vice-versa. Essentially, I wanted a story with most of the good characters still around when Harry was older and not having to deal with Voldemort. So, Sirius and Dumbledore are dead, Moody is dead, and outside of that, I don't know who else will be dead. It depends on if they decide to stick their heads in or not, and where the story takes me. Mostly, you won't see any of the canon characters after the first few chapters, with one exception. Just so you know. If you have any questions, leave it in the review or PM me or something.

A solitary bird shattered the early morning silence in the small loft above Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour. A calloused hand reached out from under the threadbare covers and flung about, smacking the end table and the clock placed on it. Sitting up and rubbing his emerald eyes, Harry Potter looked around the room, trying to discern what that noise could possibly be. As awareness slowly seeped into his system, he groaned and fell back on the bed.

Thinking that he was unusually thirsty and had a splitting headache, Harry jerkily opened the drawer in his table and grabbed a water bottle and a small vial. Silently, Harry thanked the Weasley twins for creating the water bottle. It had a semi-permanent Cooling Charm and an enchantment that ensured it never went empty. He raised the bottle to his fuzzy-feeling lips and drank the cool water. Grabbing the vial, he downed it with practiced ease and took another swig of the water to cover the taste.

Glancing at the clock, Harry realized he needed to get out of bed if he was to open at 10 o'clock. Grabbing his towel, he went to the bathroom.

As Harry stood in the piping hot shower, steam billowing around his face, he reminisced about how he acquired the loft and the business downstairs. About a month after the downfall of Voldemort, the Muggle authorities had found poor Florean Fortescue's body, lying in a ditch in Suffolk. Eventually, the Ministry of Magic got wind of it, and pulled out his last will. The shop was given to Florean's brother, a traveling musician. Not wanting to tie himself down, he offered Harry the business in gratitude for defeating the Dark Lord, also stating that, "Florean always had faith in you, even when very few others did".

Harry had been reluctant at first, but unfortunately, being the Boy-Who-Lived-And-Proceeded-To-Defeat-You-Know-Who did not really pay the bills. Sure, in the first few months, people were always inviting him to lunches and dinners and offering him a room. But most of the hubbub died down as Harry returned to Hogwarts for his seventh year to get his diploma. Harry was actually quite surprised that Florean's brother even considered him, but that was that. Now, eleven months after graduation, he had a steady job with good hours that allowed him a quiet life.

Yet after the battle was finished, Harry had started to itch for something exciting to happen. He had never thought he was an adrenaline junkie, but the more he led this boring life, the more he realized how his whole life had been fast-paced: being chased by Dudley and his gang, fighting Voldemort, getting into scuffles with Draco, and of course his crazy, seemingly yearly adventures. Unfortunately, his last year at Hogwarts had been almost idyllic, except the tumultuous breakup with Ginny which happened soon after he returned. He shook his head, attempting to get her off of his mind.

"I can't be with a girl who doesn't have boundaries." Ginny had decided Harry was being too noble and slow in their relationship and had a tryst with a Ravenclaw sixth year. Harry had been watching the Marauder's Map, thinking of Sirius, when he noticed the two in the Astronomy Tower, their two dots melding into one. Harry flipped and marched to the Tower to find the two in a quite compromising position, with both Ginny's and the Ravenclaw's pants around their ankles, with Ginny laying on top. He stormed off, realizing too late that Ginny didn't want a knight in shining armor like she proclaimed. Harry was even angrier at the fact that he had been keeping a close leash on his hormones, insuring that he wouldn't taint her honor. So much for that. Harry didn't converse with many women after the incident, with the exception being Hermione.

Harry stepped out of the shower and toweled himself off, reaching for his self-imposed uniform. Black slacks, a white button-up shirt and an apron that closely resembled Muggle tie-dye, except for the fact that all the colors swirled around aimlessly. He was quite proud of that charm, finding it in an old book on keeping house he read to prepare himself for owning his own business. Surprisingly, a lot of the good spells he found were, like this one, in the baby section.

Fully dressed, Harry wandered downstairs to the main area of the shop. He puttered around for a bit, checking this and that, making sure he was ready for the day. Hearing the bells from the local church ring 10 times, he moved forward and opened his shop for business, retreating to behind the ice cream display.

A few customers trickled in before a tidal wave of hungry patrons flooded in, hoping to cool off from the surprisingly warm April sun. Harry was doing good business today, selling quite a bit more than he expected. As the lunch rush ended, he went out and started to wipe down some of the sticky tables, noting to get the Impervious Charms recast. The bell jingled, and Harry looked up to a surprise, one he hadn't seen in nearly two years. Draco Malfoy slipped into the shop, looking rather despondent.

"Malfoy." Harry stated with a formality that betrayed his uncertainty of why his former classmate was in his shop.

"Potter." Draco replied with a practiced drawl. Yet as he finished the word, his face fell, eyes downcast. "I need to speak with you in private."

The last time Harry had seen Draco was after the final showdown with Voldemort, in which Draco had cast a curse, distracting Voldemort and allowing Harry to finish the bastard off. Draco paid dearly for his help, having been partially burned by Voldemort's retaliation. His once aristocratic features were marred by an ugly disfigurement of his right jawline and ear, and the loss of some of the hair on that side. No one had heard from the unsung hero since.

Harry knew they had a tumultuous history but decided to speak with him in spite of it. Draco had done him a brave service, one in which he was never accredited for. Harry had attempted, many a time to bring this important part of the battle to light, but no one seemed to believe him. "To the hells with the media!" He thought savagely to himself.

"Here, let's go to the backroom. There aren't many people coming in; I can spare five minutes or so."

Harry held open the door for Draco, and followed into the storeroom. It had shelves holding parfait cups and banana split boats, as well as cones and bowls. Harry conjured two wooden seats, thinking how comfortable Dumbledore's chairs had always looked. Harry decided to practice that skill, to help honor his memory, the way Dumbledore would have liked it.

"So, Malfoy, what did you want to talk about? You left in a hurry after Voldemort fell." Harry looked at Draco with a grim facade.

"I heard you had received ownership of this place, and decided I wanted to speak with you... about everything. I helped you because Voldemort had taken over my life, and I wanted to be in control of it. I was still resentful that you killed my father but I know he went in a way befitting of the Malfoy name." Harry had fenced with Malfoy, Senior and had defeated him. Harry personally thought that this was too noble a way to let Lucius off, but he held his tongue.

"Anyway, I know we had our differences before. I've been attending rehabilitation and seeing a psychiatrist, and it has helped me see where I went wrong and how my father affected my life. I know too much has happened to be friends, but I still wanted to apologize." Draco tentatively held out his hand in an almost submissive gesture, and Harry gripped it with conviction.


	2. Chapter 2

The day wore on as normal, with customers coming in and buying "Bertie Bott's Sherbert" or just a plain vanilla cone. The only odd thing he noticed was a larger amount of foreign people coming in. There were Yankees, Brazilians, Chinese and Russians all in his store today. While before, there was the occasional non-English person, today nearly a fourth of his customers were from a different nation. Harry shrugged and continued until 7 P.M., his closing time. He swept the floor, put all the ice cream in the regular freezer in back, and placed the regular wards and Anti-Intruder jinxes on the property, before grabbing his new flak vest, worn more for style than purpose, and going to grab his mail.

Most of the owners of Diagon Alley stores had all of their mail delived to the Owl Post Office, as having owls fly in and out of places of business was distracting to the owners and the customers. He said hello to the wizened Post Master, who handed him a stack of eight or so letters. As he was walking out, he ran smack into Fred Weasley, which resulted in George running into Fred's back.

"Oy, watch it there, Potter! Important businessmen coming through!" Fred intoned with a small smile on his face.

"Yeah, we have urgent mail to receive!" George followed.

"If you haven't read it yet, how do you know it's urgent?" Harry replied with his own grin.

"Well..."

"We just know."

Harry was glad that none of the Weasley's, minus Ginny, were too upset about him breaking it off with her. Ron had originally blown up, assuming that the two would live forever together. Yet after a while, he ceded that Harry was his best friend, and he wasn't going to let some girl get in the way of their friendship, even if it was his sister.

"How was business today, boys?" Harry asked with a distracted tone.

"Oh, it was a pretty good day. Had a lot of foreigners, which increased sales by a lot."

Harry's ears perked up at this. "Me too! Do you know why?"

Fred smiled, and pulled out his _Daily Prophet_. "It says here that they finally started handing out the additional visas for travel. Remember, Dad created that bill over a year ago, right after he was elected to the Wizenagamot? He wanted Shacklebolt to put it through immediately but they had just removed the Minister's emergency wartime powers, so it had to go through the normal channels. It's such a shame that democracy is so slow."

Harry nodded in agreement. Shacklebolt had gotten a lot of good things done that had truly helped the war effort and wizarding society in Britain, more than its past few Ministers.

"What have you got there, fellow entrepreneur of ours?" George asked, eyeing the stack of mail in Harry's hands.

"Anything outside of bills?" Fred asked.

"Let's see..." Harry ticked off his mail. "Bill, bill, bill, hopeful supplier, bill, bill, invoice, and..." Harry trailed off looking at his last piece. "I don't know what this is."

The envelope looked like the Hogwarts envelope, with a similar flowing script done in blue ink. The return address was from an "M U."

"Do you guys know who 'Mu' is? I've never heard of this person or company named that." Harry questioned the twins.

"Nope!" The two Weasley's chorused.

"Well, I guess I'll open it while I have dinner with your brother and Hermione. I'll see you two around." Harry, perplexed by this letter, walked out of the office and towards The Leaky Cauldron. He turned it over in his hands and looked at the seal. It was fairly detailed, Harry thought to himself. The bottom had a book lying flat on its spine, open to the middle. Over it lay two things: a wand, with sparks shooting from the end and a broadsword. Above those three items was positioned a proud griffin, standing on it's hind legs.

"Harry! There you are!" The shout broke Harry from his perusal from the seal, forcing him to look up and see Ron, standing with Hermione near the brick archway. Ron was waving his arms frantically, while Hermione rolled her eyes at the over eagerness of her compatriot.

Harry wandered over to the two, giving Hermione a big hug and giving Ron's hand a vigorous shake. Hermione had recently returned from her trip to Egypt, where it was believed house elves orginated. At least, hat's where first evidence of their existence had arose. The young woman had obviously spent time out in the sun, doing research for house elf rights, as she was more tan than Harry had ever seen her. Ron had bulked up, his time as reserve keeper for the Tutshill Tornados gave him the workouts he had always wanted. They sat at a table outside and waited for Tom to bring the regular meals.

Harry picked up his intriguing letter, and began to open it as Hermione squirmed in her chair.

"Oi, Hermione, spill it. What do you want to say?" Ron sputtered at his female friend.

Harry withdrew the letter from the envelope and began to unfold it.

"I was invited to the Merlin University to study!"

Ron stared at her while Harry scanned his letter.

"It seems like I have been as well." Harry continued to read his letter, not noticing the silence until Hermione ripped the letter from his hands.

"YOU WHAT?..." Ron shouted. "How did **THAT** happen?

Harry looked confusedly from Ron to Hermione. Ron's mouth was hanging wide open, his hands shoved into his hair. Hermione was reading the letter with a fervor, her eyes getting wider as they went.

"It says here you've been accepted in the field of... Military Special Operations? What does that mean?" Hermione was completely flustered. She looked at the paper, to Harry, back to the paper, then back to Harry, as if checking to make sure that Harry Potter, her longtime friend was in fact sitting in front of her.

Harry was trying to sort out their reactions. "It's just a school, isn't it? I don't have the money to go to a university anyways."

"Just a school?!? JUST A SCHOOL?" Hermione almost exploded. "Merlin University is the most exclusive university on this planet, Muggle or wizarding! They only take about 300 students every two years, and this from a pool of almost 16,000. Supposedly, you need to show an intense love for learning and a background in research before they even consider you to go! And no offense to you, Harry, but you really don't fit into either specification."

Harry considered what she had said. That was probably true, but Harry had his doubts.

"You make a valid point. But Military Special Operations doesn't seem like the area where people with 'an intense love for learning', " Harry made air quotes with his hands at this phrase, "would center their studies."

Hermione's splotchy red face slowly receded as the logic of Harry's statement sunk in. Ron's mouth was still open, looking like a massive fly catcher.

"Anyways, Harry, money doesn't matter. The school is supported by the International Confederation of Warlocks and every nation that sends its students there. It is the premier Wizarding university, only competing with its sister school in the East. You get paid to attend." Hermione said all in one breath.

At this, Tom the bartender walked up to the table and delivered Ron and Harry's fish and chips and Hermione's grilled chicken. They dug in, each thinking about the reprecussions of what had transpired.

* * *

Harry reentered his loft, thoughts weighing at his mind. While he didn't know all the details of what Merlin University was, it seemed to be a good deal. Study for a few years, get paid to do so, then come out and go into the Aurors like he had planned out during school. It was a win-win deal. Kingsley had already assured him he had a spot waiting for him in the Aurors once he was ready and Harry was starting to get a little bored of the business owner's life. If the Uiverstiy thing didn't work out, he could just drop out then go directly into the Aurors as a recruit. If not, and he decided to stick it out, he might come in at something higher, with his knowledge of Military Special Ops.

Walking over to his liquor cabinet, Harry pulled out his bottle of single malt Scotch Whisky. He poured himself a slug, downed it, then poured another and sat down to write his acceptance and deal with his affairs. If he were to go to school, he would either need to sell it or hire one or two people to run it while he was gone. He also needed to find a person who wanted to rent the loft. Either way, he was going to need to write a letter or two to the Daily Prophet.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Sorry if you were reading the chapter then it disappeared. I realized I had some errors, and put it on hold to fix them. Sorry about the mess up! Please R + R!

Harry spent the last two months before he left for Merlin University as a busy man. After placing ads in the Daily Prophet, he got a flood of offers to buy the business as well as people who wanted to work and stay in the loft. One, in particular, caught his eye. Colin Creevey had sent Harry a personal letter, asking him how he was doing an other formailities, before asking if he could work at the ice cream shop full-time as well as stay in the loft. He had been working as a freelance photogropher for the Daily Prophet and while it was nice, it didn't really pay the bills. He had been out on an assignment and had unknowingly been bitten by a spider; while the medic had stopped the venom, it had crippled his left leg and left him hindered in movement. So, he was hoping to settle down somewhere and look for a more stable job, and where better to look than Diagon Alley?

Harry couldn't turn down a friend, one who had helped him fight Voldemort. All the other applicants were either unknown or unsavory in some way, so Harry had offered him the job and the loft. Colin readily accepted, and said he would be ready to move in on August first, the day Harry left for MU. For the two weeks before the first, Harry had been teaching him how to run the store. It was liberating to let all of these responsibilities wash away, he realized as Harry made his final rounds around his apartment for things to add to his trunk on July 30th, his 19th birthday and two days before the term began. He magically enlarged it a week ago, allowing him to put all of his clothes, books, his liquor cabinet, and other necessities in it without any trouble making things fit. He shrunk it and placed it on his bedside table. He paused and looked around at the bare room. Truly, this room had not been a home to him. It was only a stopping place where he had stayed to rest his head.

* * *

With a start, Harry awoke. There was no alarm or infernal bird, just himself being excited for the day. It had been nearly two years since he had woken up without the aid of an external source, and it felt quite good to do so. He rose and dressed in the outfit he had placed out the day before; a pair of leather shoes, khaki slacks, a pastel pink buttoned-up shirt with the sleeves rolled up for the cool weather, and his Dolce and Gabbana sunglasses. He sighed as he put the last item on, remembering how he had blown through his inherited money by buying useless items like these sunglasses, as he foud it seemed to help him forget the losses of Sirius, Dumbledore, Moody, Remus, and all of the students lost in the war. He was of course wrong, but at the time it seemed to help.

"Oh well," Harry thought to himself. "I got out of that phase quickly."

He stood in front of the mirror and spiked his hair up. He had decided if he couldn't get the back to lie down, he might as well have all of it standing up. It looked much more normal this way, and it wasn't too difficult to do with the charm he learned. It also didn't leave his hair greasy like Snape's had been.

The letter had said he had to get to Dunkirk, France by 2:00 P.M. There was a French Ministy Building that everyone would meet at, before being escorted to the harbor where the students would take a boat to the University. Harry had originally planned on Apparating to the checkpoint, but realized he had never been to Dunkirk and didn't know where it was or what it looked like. So, he decided to leave a little earlier and go to the British Ministry and Floo from there.

The trip was easy enough; he only had to deal with two hero-worshippers in the Ministry Lobby this time. He refused to sign autographs, the memories of Gilderoy Lockhart were still too fresh in his mind. However, he would always pose for pictures. After a while, he began to enjoy it, and it showed in the pictures he took. He finally waved off the two girls, as he called out, "Ministrie du Magique Dunkirk!"

Harry had never taken International Floo before, and he probably never would again. It felt as if he was being flung to the moon and back for seemingly hours. Suddenly, he was flung out of the fireplace as if out of a cannon. Harry bowled into someone and got all his limbs tangled up. With laughter surrounding him, Harry slowly untangled his limbs and brushed the soot off of his clothes. The person, no young man he had smacked into was having a harder time getting up. Harry offered him his hand, and yanked him up.

"Sorry about that, Floo and Portkey's aren't really my preferred method of travel. If I weren't on such a tight schedule, I would have flown my broom over the Channel. By the way, I'm Harry Potter." Harry spoke with a bemused grin.

The young man was short but had very thick shoulders. He was tan and had curly black hair. Harry thought he looked similar to Goyle but with some expression on his face. He also exuded an aura of control that seemed out of place in a guy that age.

"Oh! Roomie, how ya doin'?" The man bubbled with enthusiasm. "Are you ready to join the MU class of 2005?"

Harry started at hearing that this man was his roommate. He stuttered, "I... uh... hi there..."

The man chuckled at Harry's lack of tongue. "I'm Shallanor Piropolous. You probably knew that, but there is yet to be someone who hasn't stumbled on my name at least once."

Harry released a sigh of relief. "Whew. I'm not too good with the Greek names, Shallanor. So, when are we leaving?" Harry scanned the room, looking for Hermione. He saw her debating with some other witch, a short and dainty-looking blonde who seemed to be keeping up with Hermione's prattle. "Good for her," he thought. "Someone who can keep up with Hermione."

"Soon I think. We still have about ten minutes before two. C'mon, I'll introduce you to our suitemates." Shallanor grabbed Harry's arm and forcefully dragged him towards the other side of the room. Harry was surprised at the strength this man was showing, pulling Harry along like a doll. They arrived in front of two guys before Shallanor released him.

The two could not have looked more different. The young man on the left was short and what looked to be Hispanic. He had well trimmed black hair and dark brown eyes, which twitched with an acute awareness. He wore thin, rimless glasses with square lenses. There seemed to be little muscle mass on his body, but no fat either. In contrast, the man to Harry's right was massive. Harry guessed him to be about 40 cm taller than himself; he was rippling with muscle. Atop of his head sat a blonde, curly mop of hiar which accentuated his deep blue eyes. These eyes did not dart like his partner's, but lazily wafted around the room, taking in what was happening.

"Marco, Patrick, this is Harry Potter, our last suitemate." Shallanor piped up, interrupting the others' trains of thought. "He's from Hogwarts in Britain. Harry, this is Marco Fuente, from the Yucatan Magnet School in Mexico, and this is Patrick Sampson, from the Appalachian Academy in the United States."

"I know about you." Marco stated. "You were the one who defeated that crazy, Voldemort, twice. That, and you were Dumbledore's protege."

Harry lowered his sunglasses and looked piercingly at Marco. "How did you know that?"

"It's my job to know things." Marco replied. "However, I know very little about our two other roommates and now is not the time to learn, because we are about ready to leave."

As if that was a cue, a thin black man stood up on a platform near the glass entrance doors of the building and cast Sonorous! upon himself.

"Young men and women, it is time to move to the boat. Please move this way."

With that, the doors opened, and with agility he jumped off the platform and walked out the door.

The four looked at each other, and followed the crowd out the door.


	4. Chapter 4

Harry, Shallanor, Patrick and Marco all left the building and followed the crowd of other young adults. The smell of sea water assaulted Harry's nose. It had been a while since he was by the sea, and it invigorated him. They joked as they walked the streets, pointing out the people they knew and guessing what they were going to Merlin University for.

"Ha ha! Look, it's Wade Kline!" Patrick said with glee. "He's the son of the governor of South Carolina. He's probably here to be part of the political think tank, trying to keep the South's prejudiced policies in force. His whole family is a group of pureblood supremacists, wouldn't be surprised if he was in the same mold."

Harry nodded and took note of the man Patrick had pointed out. He looked similar to Draco Malfoy, with the aristocratic face, yet he had pulled his hair back in a long, ebony ponytail tied off with a blue bow. He was dressed in a three-piece suit and walked as if he had done this every day.

"Looks like my kind of politician, eh?" Shallanor elbowed Harry and Patrick in the ribs good-naturedly.

The four chuckled, and Harry spotted Hermione.

"There's Hermione Granger, one of my best friends from Hogwarts. She's here for house elf rights after doing some research into their history in Egypt." Harry pointed her out to the other three.

"She's campaigning _for_ house elf rights, I assume?" Marco asked with an interested glance.

"No doubt. I think it's her life goal to see them all freed from abuse and servitude."

"Well, good. They're an amazing species, some of my best helpers." Marco responded with a faraway look.

Patrick, Harry and Shallanor gave each other confused grins and shrugged it off.

By that time, they had arrived at the harbor. It was filled with mostly sailboats, with a few odd catamarans and small yachts scattered about. Yet the centerpiece was definitely the _SS Gryffon_. It was a massive yacht that seemingly dwarfed the dock. It was probably 50 meters long, and 20 meters high. The waxed sheen of the hull glinted in the midday sun, nearly blinding Harry. Apparently, the crowd had stopped moving as Harry gazed at the boat and proceeded to walk into the back of some girl. She turned, an ugly look vanishing from her face as she saw Harry, with a smile almost as blinding as the boat revealing itself.

"I'm sorry, I wasn't paying attention," Harry apologized to the girl.

"Oh, don't you worry a bit. It's definitely not a problem." Harry wasn't sure, but it seemed as if her smile got even wider, then she turned around, facing the guide, who had re-acclaimed a podium. The students turned their attention to the man.

"This is the SS Gryffon and is the property of the University. Generally, it is only used for transporting freshman students to the island and the occasional diplomatic envoy. Our trip will take approximately one hour, so please, board the ship and we can shove off and get to our destination on time."

Th guide turned and looked behind himself for a moment, then turned around and readdressed the crowd. "It seems as if one of the Student Government representatives wishes to address you. This is Benson Moody, a junior at Merlin U and the head of the Student Acclimation Committee." The guide stepped down and allowed a bulky man of medium height take the podium.

"I am not supposed to welcome you to Merlin U yet, officially, so I'll just get down to business. The boat behind me has a few meeting rooms where you and people of your area of study will meet and get to know each other. Here at Merlin, most of your time will be spent with these people, both inside and outside of your research. We find that it helps people more productive if they are well acquainted with their colleagues. So, here are where you should head when you get on the boat."

Harry turned to the three guys and whispered, "I think I know one of his family members. He was a famous, retired Auror who helped me out of a few tough situations."

The three smiled and grunted in approval.

"...History majors will be in the Lower Aft Ballroom, International Wizarding Law in the Capitol Commons, which is right as you get onto the boat, and if you don't fit into any of these...," he trailed off, looking at the scroll he was reading, "...it says here, you know who you are, and you should meet on the deck, on the starboard side." Benson looked up from the parchment, throwing it over his shoulder. "Now that everyone knows where they are going, time to get on the boat!"

Harry moved with the mass towards the gangplank. After wobbly walking up, his old trainers barely gripping the wood, Harry made it to what he assumed was the commons. He looked around at the scarlet themed room and was suitably impressed. It wasn't garish, but there was definitely money put into it. It had scarlet walls and floors with a gold ceiling. Harry was reminded of the Gryffindor common room. He looked around and saw a set of stairs going up, so he motioned for the others to follow and they made their way to the deck.

Thinking back, Harry hoped that him mentioning Mad-Eye hadn't made them miss where they were supposed to meet. Harry assumed they were in the last category, but he wasn't positive. Luckily, no one made any objections to Harry leading them, so he carried on.

As he rose the last set of stairs, sunlight blazed into a small hole up above. Harry pulled himself out onto the deck, and helped pull his new friends out. They looked around to see if they could spot anyone but Marco spoke up.

"This is port side, not starboard. We need to get to the other side."

Aha, Harry thought to himself. He hoped that he could maybe learn how to sail while at the University; he had always wanted to try it.

As they rounded the end of the boat they saw a group of three girls sitting around a table, chatting animatedly. There was a striking Hispanic beauty on the left that immediately drew Harry's attention. Yet as his eyes passed to the right, he saw a girl with shoulder length blonde hair and muted brown eyes. She was small and lithe, her hand movements graceful. On the far right sat a round-faced woman with a no-nonsense ponytail and look on her face. Yet her smile broke that facade, saw Harry as the three turned to face the oncoming boys.

"Hey, Josephine. Long time, no see, eh?" Marco called out. The girl on the left rolled her eyes and gave Marco a rude hand gesture, making Marco guffaw.

"Yeah, yeah, it's so funny that my twin got into the same program I did." She replied with sarcastic derision.

"Hey now," Marco said mockingly. "If I remember right, it was my skills that got you noticed. Without me, you would still be in Mexico, dealing with that pig Jorge."

She waved her hand in a non-committal wave. "Okay, you caught me. So, who are your friends?" At this, Harry noticed her doing some subtle eyelash fluttering. He laughed as Shallanor involuntarily puffed out his chest and lifted his chin.

"Cut out the charm bullshit, Jo. They're teammates, not sources." Marco said with a patronizing stare. Josephine glared at him but relaxed to a less coy stance.

"This is Harry Potter, from Hogwarts, Shallanor Piropolous, from Argyllis and Patrick Sampson from Voodoo."

"C'mon Marco, you know it's called the Appalachian Academy now. It has been for the last 30 years!" Patrick said in protest.

"True, but no one actually calls it that in the real world. Also, Voodoo sounds way cooler." Marco replied with a grin. "Now, who are these ladies of which you have acquainted yourself with?"

Josephine responded with a glare that she had received earlier yet Marco gave her an innocent, puppy-dog look. She rolled her eyes again and continued with the introductions.

"To my right is Sarah McBlain, from Beauxbatons-Toronto. Next to her is Nikki Sama from Ochreson."

With that, there was a short, awkward silence where the four men looked at the the three women, and they returned the looks. Harry decided to break the moment.

"Cool stuff. What is this all about? I'd never heard of Merlin U before I got my letter; what should I expect?" With that, Harry pulled out his wand and gave it a complicated, elliptical wave with a small flourish, conjuring four chairs reminiscent of the ones Dumbledore would create, purple plush armchairs with a gold braided trim. A few weeks before Voldemort had overwhelmed Dumbledore and murdered him, Albus had sat Harry down and taught him "the most important spell you will ever learn." Harry was expecting something to help him in the fight against Voldemort; Dumbledore had chairs on his mind. Dumbledore spent time teaching Harry all of the complexities and secrets of conjuring chairs that were not only stable but also comfortable and stylish. He had confided in Harry that almost no other wizard knew the secret of how to conjure furniture that lasted more than 10 minutes, and even then it was a basic wooden stool. So, Harry enjoyed showing this off more than anything else.

Sarah lauched into a tirade about the school, its history and how happy she was to have received a letter. Harry listened with rapt attention as she began to talk about how in all the records she saw there was no mention of there ever being a Military Special Operations major at Merlin. The closest thing she could find was a military history group that had been stopped about 100 years ago due to disinterest. As she prattled on, Harry lost interest and began to watch the sea. They seemed to be going much faster than boats he had seen before but he attributed it to the magic. He heard a short silence so he turned back towards the conversation. Everyone was looking at Sarah with an amused expression while she started to blush scarlet.

"I'm sorry. Once I get on a roll it's hard to stop." She apologized with a red face that would have made any Weasley proud. They grinned at her at Shallanor took the lead.

"Well, Harry, after that enlightening expose, I will try and answer your question. It seems that we're here to make some sort of paramilitary group, probably similar to the Battlemages of old. For what, I don't know why."

"I do." Marco spoke up. "Voldemort had been gaining followers worldwide and was weeks away from bringing them all to Britain to take control of the government. Yet Mr. Potter here decided that then would be a good time to kill him. So, all of the Dark forces worldwide have been rallied with no leader, so not only has there been a movement to bring someone to the head, but also, there have been attacks all over the world, Britain not included. They're all too scared of Harry to do that."

Harry reeled in his seat with this information. He and the Orer of the Phoenix had been so caught up with Britain they had totally missed the international conflict going on. Had he really been that close to bringing every Dark wizard in the world to England?

"Wow." Harry seemed to slide down even further in his seat. "We barely defeated him this time and it was only because of a diversion were we able to overwhelm his forces. Had I decided to wait any longer, Britain as we know it we be gone."

"And that would have been a mess for everyone across the world." Patrick chipped in. "They're still in a little bit of a disarray, but organization is coming fast for them, at least in my neck of the woods."

The table nodded with this assessment. It would have become the next World War had Harry not intervened at the time he did.

"Enough of that gloomy stuff," Nikki said. "My brother was telling me about all the crazy pranks and parties that happen here. I mean, you get the best and brightest witches and wizards from across the Western Hemisphere together and put them in a week long, high stress situation. How else would you relax from that?"

"One of our sources went here a few years ago and said that this is the craziest place in the whole Wizarding world. What goes on here, stays here. I didn't get any details because of that, but he said that we will have not just be studying all the time, that is for sure." Josephine said with a feral glint in her eye. "Let's hope he's telling the truth."

Harry cut in before anyone else could respond. "OK. Something I've been wondering. What do you and Marco do? You both have mentioned 'sources' and 'friends' that help in your work. Also, you seem to know way more about current events than everyone else. What's the deal?"

Josephine gave Marco a look that clearly said, "You get to take this." Marco cleared his throat and turned in his seat to face Harry.

"Josephine is the head of the largest private spy network in the world. I am the analyst for all the information she collects. Our dad was a diplomat, so we learned all those skills from him and got to make networking connections with people all over the world. We recently provided information to the Mexican government about a potential attack, and after that, we received a letter from the University asking us to come study."

Everyone gave the two an impressed once over. With an inquiring look, Patrick asked, "So if that's why you two are here, why was everyone else picked? If my line of thinking is correct, I was chosen because I personally fended off a group of assassins that were trying to kill my mother while she was bed-ridden. That's all I can think of for me." He looked around at the others.

"Most of you know my story, I guess." Harry said reluctantly. "I killed the Dark Lord Voldemort."

"I led the revolt that overthrew the corrupt Greek Ministry." Shallanor said with pride.

"I really haven't done any certain spectacular event in my life but I'm a blackbelt in two martial arts, aikkido and jujitsu, ranked number three in the world in parkour technical expertise and have been a ballet dancer since I was three." Sarah added.

"I broke into Gringotts and got back out unscathed." Nikki said with a straight face.

This nearly knocked Harry out of his chair. "You..you... what?!?" He asked her, shocked.

"I broke into Gringotts two years ago. The goblins know, and the only reason they didn't kill me was because I didn't steal anything for personal gain, just to prove that I did it. That, and I told them where their problem areas were and promised never to tell the public that I did it." She gave a demure smile. "It got me a very nice vault that was recently vacated by a former Death Eater."

Harry was stunned at the variety and depth of skills presented in this group. He felt almost inadequate amongst these people who had accomplished amazing feats in their lives. Taking down Voldemort was nice, but overthrowing a corrupt government or amassing the largest spy network in the world... he felt out of place. He was broken by their reverie by two visitors. The first was the girl who had been talking to Hermione earlier. She looked harried, her face red and hair askew. She looked around at the different people and sighed heavily.

"This isn't Wizarding History, is it?" She asked, tears beginning to form on the corners of her eyes.

The second visitor, an elderly and wizened man placed his hand on her back and pointed to the bow. "If you take those stairs down two flights then go to the third gold door on your right, that's where Wizarding History is right now."

She looked to him with a small smile, thanked him, then rushed towards the bow. With that, the older man turned around and surveyed the people sitting at the table. He had a confused look, until his eyes fell on Harry. He smirked, then pulled his wand out and gave it a complex swish, conjuring a chair similar to the ones Harry had just done.

"Harry, I like the gold trim. It's a nice touch, especially in contrast to the purple." The man's own chair was a deep green with a black, white and red trim. Harry's jaw dropped again. Today was full of surprises.

"Without further ado, I'll introduce myself. I am Brynnson 'Hinjo' Jaa'a'maru, Dean of Merlin University. You may call me Dean Jaa'a'maru in public, yet in settings such as this, you may call me Hinjo. While I am the Dean, and oversee all of the academic affairs at the school, I will be personally investing quite a bit of time in your personal educations. As you may have gathered, being all quite intelligent, that you are a special group here at MU. Not only will you be participating in a different style of education than the rest of you classmates, but this is the first time a group such as yourselves has been assembled since, well, the group I was a part of, almost a century ago."

He looked around, taking in the reactions. Before anyone could process and ask a question, he continued.

"This group has been assembled for both a very specific and very general purpose. Yet, before I tell you this purpose, I will tell you a bit of history."

"When Merlin was around, he found that the wizarding world needed more schooling. There was a system similar to the schools you attended in place, yet he wanted a school where higher education would be acknowledged and fostered. So, before the whole debacle with Nimue, he created the first wizarding university. It was destroyed in some war 50 years after he died, but the seed was planted. In 1507, a group of friends decided to build a school that held the same ideals that Merlin held at the forefront, and thus created Merlin University. The island itself has moved a few times, but the campus itself has stayed the same. In 1516, there was a Dark Arts resurgence. Nations alone could not fight this power and the international council at the time had no forces to quell the uprisings. The president of the university at the time decided to take action."

A horn blew, making everyone jump suddenly in shock. Hinjo smoothed his robes, then continued.

"Well, that means there's ten minutes until we dock at port, so I'll tell you the short version. The president hand picked a group of 10 students who exemplified certain aspects of military expertise, be it magical prowess, intelligence, leadership and the like. He named this group of students the Wraiths of Merlin. They were tasked with finding the heaviest pockets of the Dark and disable them, as well as removing the leaders, making those who were not as dedicated to lose hope in the cause. It was so effective, the international council of the time asked the Wraiths to stay in contact, and if there was ever another uprising, to help stamp it out like they had done earlier. They agreed, and the first standing wizarding special ops team was created."

"Each team is asked to stay together until they are unable or unwilling to continue. Occasionally, even if a couple members drop out, they are still dedicated enought to serve the world without them. I was a part of the latest team, and we had been together for the past 90 years, as I said. Recently, we lost two of our members." At this, Hinjo's eyes locked onto Harry's. "You knew one of them; Albus Dumbledore."

This made Dumbledore's disappearances make so much more sense. As the time to defeat Voldemort was coming to a close, Dumbledore hd been constantly leaving for days at a time without explanation. He had most likely been fighting those forces that Marco had been talking about. Harry turned his attention back to Hinjo.

"Yes, Dumbledore was a part of the team. With his loss, and the loss of Taneek in the Mongolian Steppes raid, our team has hit the very minimum that we should be using to do operations. If we lose another, we will be unable to operate effectively. Therefore, the university decided to call together a new group. You seven are the best of the best in what you do. Here you will receive the training to take your skills and make them deadly. I will explain more after the Opening Banquet; now, you need to head towards the Capital Commons to disembark. Oh, and by the way, the speech tonight will only partly pertain to you."

With a smile and a pop, Hinjo Disapparated, leaving the seven to-be-Wraiths to head down to enter the University.

* * *

A/N: So, has anyone guessed who Patrick's father is? It's an allusion to a somewhat popular television series.

Also, I'm sorry for all the backstory. Eventually, there will be more things happening with Harry, as he is the main character. But I love backstory and lore more than anything, so you might have to sit through it while I have fun.

Parkour is like a combination of running, gymnastics, and a little bit of martial arts mixed together in an urban setting. Youtube it to see some amazing things.

Please R/R!


	5. Chapter 5

Harry stepped onto the gangplank and took in the island on which the boat had docked. He couldn't tell how big it was but he guessed approximately 5 kilometers across and maybe 4 deep. There was a basic square building to the right of the dock, made of red brick and only one story high. To the far left stood a row of bungalows on a stunningly white beach, with a line of palm trees separating it from what seemed to be the main campus. There were 3 dark stone buildings that were almost menacing in their appearance. They were connected by stone walkways covered by arches. The three buildings surrounded a massive white marble fountain, with students spread around the fountain and sitting in the grass that covered the inner part of the island. His eyes wandered, noticing more buildings to the right as well as what he assumed to be a lake of some sorts.

Harry headed towards the banner that read, "Welcome New Students!" It was placed over a sheet of glass that formed part of the wall of another building, past the squat brick one. There was a set of doors held open for the students as they were let into a soaring cathedral-like banquet hall. The walls were covered with bulletin boards and portraits. Underfoot were rolls of multicolored rugs covering a slate floor. Round tables, seating eight each, were spread about the room in a haphazard fashion. Harry and the others started to move through the throng of students, looking for an open table. Looking around, Harry saw Headmaster Hinjo waving them towards his table. He started to head in his direction with the group in tow. Harry stood by the table.

"Is there something you wanted, Headmaster? We were just looking for a table."

"Well yes, sit down here. There are seven of you, correct? At Merlin, we don't have separate staff and student tables. It promotes familiarity, which breeds cooperation. And now that I'm done giving you the propaganda of the school, sit down, I have to make an announcement."

The seven Wraiths shared glances as they sat in the wooden chairs. Harry was jostled between Patrick and the Headmaster; Hinjo stood as the last of the students in the hall took their own seats.

"Welcome, new students of Merlin University! This is the Student Center, where you can come to get and send mail, eat, and travel to the local town. There will be a few announcements after the meal, but for now, eat up!"

The Headmaster sat down and menus popped up in front of each person. Harry grabbed his and begna to read what was on it. They had some things he was unfamiliar with, including enchiladas and pepperoni pizza. Harry decided he would try the pizza as that was what Patrick had just ordered. He said "Pepperoni Pizza" aloud and a steaming piece arrived on his plate. He took a large bite. It was excruciatingly hot, forcing Harry to drop his jaw and start fanning his mouth. "Water! WATER! WATER!" He said with haste.

Harry almost choked in surprise as three tall tumblers of water popped into existence behind his plate. He grabbed one, and swallowed half of it in a few gulps. Harry hung his head as he heard peals of laughter coming from the other occupants of the table.

"It wasn't that funny," he said defensively. "I just didn't realize the cheese would burn like that."

Patrick was turning a little red in the face as his booming laugh rebounded off the walls, drawing a few heads. Nikki put her forehead in her palm and shook it, while the others laughed. Headmaster Hinjo raised an eyebrow at the young student, but didn't say anything.

Now fully embarrassed, Harry took a much smaller bite and savored the flavor. He decided this was one of his new favorite foods. Pizza was delicious! He looked around to see what everyone else was eating. The headmaster was eating a pasta with red sauce. Josephine and Sarah were eating salads with pieces of chicken on top that looked more like an appetizer than a full meal. Shallanor, Marco and Nikki were all eating what Harry assumed were the enchiladas.

His eyes drifted around the remainder of the tables. There seemed to be introductions going on between the students and staff, with a few tables being more animated than others. Hermione had reentered into a debate with the blonde from earlier, yet this time adding a few others to conversation. The politician's son Patrick had mentioned was sitting back in his chair, occasionally adding a remark that turned Hermione's face crimson and her knuckles white. The staff member seated there, a balding man with thick glasses smirked, taking it in. Hermione flipped her hair, which Harry had come to learn meant she was getting riled up. Harry grinned and returned his attention to his table.

Shallanor was regaling the table with his adventures in the overthrow of the government he helped orchestrate.

"My brother and I were hunkered down behind a piece of a pillar that fell over during first volley. It was looking grim, as General Sotiropolous's bodyguards were sequestered in a tight formation behind the front desk. As I took glances around, looking for an advantage while dodging some nasty spells, I noticed the massive tapestry the General commissioned, hanging directly over the troops. Using a modified _Incendio_, one that launched a wave of flame rather than solely lighting something on fire, I lit riggings on fire causing the massive tapestry to fall on all 20 of his personal guards while on fire." Shallanor looked around, gauging the reactions. "After we doused the fire and captured the guards, taking the General was easy. He was furiously trying to break the anti-apparition wards so he could escape like the mongrel he is."

"Luckily," Shallanor continued, "no one was seriously injured except for a shattered leg that was impossible to reform and some burns on the guards."

"Wait," Harry was taken aback. "You mean no one died in the coup? How many people were in the attack?"

"Well, we didn't expect anyone to die. There were the twenty or so defenders and about thirty attackers. No one was using lethal spells." Shallanor gave him an odd look. "Did you expect deaths?"

The table had turned all of their attention to Harry. "Well..." He stalled. "Well, yeah I did. When we fought in Britain, if you excuse my slang, we played for keeps. Our side tried to keep deaths to a minimum, but stuff happens. You throw an _Expelliarmus_ that throws someone onto a protruding log. That and our opponents were not afraid of using _Avada Kedavra_ if they were sure it would kill one of us. They also had quite a few curses that were almost as guaranteed of a death as _Avada Kedavra_. It was war." Throughout the course of his spiel, five of the mouths on the table had slowly opened, showing some gaping maws. The only ones who hadn't reacted similarly were Headmaster Hinjo and Patrick. Patrick was nodding his head almost imperceptibly, giving Harry an approving look. The Headmaster took the silence as a chance to speak up.

"This is the reason why Harry will be your leader. He has been through war, led an army, killed and watched friends be killed. That experience is invaluable in a team which will most definitely see death. While I do not mean to lower the accomplishments of Mr. Piropolous, he does not have that exposure. When a team members chokes, which can possibly happen, even is likely to happen the first time one kills or sees death, the other team members can help cover. Yet when a leader chokes... it is much harder to recuperate from that. It is something we will work on this year, but you would prefer these situations not to come up."

The Headmaster turned to Harry and spoke to him directly. "I'm sorry to have broken the news early, but I felt it was a good opportunity. Another lesson to all of you," he spun in his chair to face the rest of them. "Just because something changes doesn't mean you should throw the whole plan to hell. Assess, Extrapolate, Improvise, Overcome, Understand. Assess how the information and plan has changed. Extrapolate what caused the change, if it was a fluke or some important difference. Improvise on what to do. Overcome the obstacle. Understand what you did, how it affects the original plan, and how you can use that instance to prevent repeats in the future. It's easy to remember, especially since all of you are fluent in English. It's the vowels in order. AEIOU." The Headmaster leaned back in the chair, his face returning from a serious demeanor to much more cheerful. "Best thing ICW ever did, making English the international language of scholars."

Harry, realizing he had just received an important bit of information that could very well save his life someday, grabbed the trusty fountain pen given to him by Hermione for emergency situations, wrote down the vowels and the corresponding words in the notebook he had begun carrying with him a few months earlier. It was much easier to remember things when they were written down.

Headmaster Hinjo stood again, clearing his throat loudly. "Now that you have all eaten, there shall be a few announcements. First, about Merlin University. Everyone here learned about the University through their letter. As you may know, this is a research institute. You will not sit through classes and lectures, where you may or may not pay attention. Learning will be done in small research groups. These groups will be project oriented, meaning everyone in the group works together to provide a quality bit of research. That means most of your time will be doing research or testing, with group meetings scheduled by the group. This leads into Merlin's expectations of its students. You are all adults, thus we will treat you as such. If you do not wish to act as an adult, we will ask you to leave. However, this mostly pertains to your conduct as a researcher. Outside of your studies, we just expect all of you to be safe. Everyone here is still young, so we also expect you to act as such." A smile had crossed his face as he spoke the last bit. "Now, for more bureaucratic memos."

"The first two weeks are going to be an orientation. That means we do not expect you to do any actual research towards your topic. We will have school sponsored activities that might help you get acclimated to the professional and social climate here. These are optional but highly recommended. Included are an in-depth tour of the campus, led by students; a short lecture on the Muggle town we have found to be most accessible by students, as well as an unguided tour of said town. There will be talks for our extracurricular clubs, both academic and not; and lastly, an open forum about research techniques in the Wizarding world. Something of note, all areas are open to all students at all times. The only exclusion is personal living quarters, and the only restriction on that is you need to have the resident's consent, obviously. Mr. Moody, if you please."

The Headmaster sat, while Benson stood. "I am going to take you on a very short tour, just pointing out buildings that you might need to be at tomorrow. If you would follow me, we can get started then put all of you in your living quarters."


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Sorry for the wait, I've had this chapter mostly finished for about three weeks but couldn't put the finishing touches on it. However, I'm not sorry for the cliffie. Totally goes in line with the story, and it's way too much fun.**

**Remember, R/R!  
**

* * *

Harry only paid slight attention to Benson's tour. He watched the passing scenery as the sun slowly waned in the west. No one had mentioned where they were and Harry couldn't tell exactly, but he guessed somewhere in the Carribean due to the weather and the position of the sun. He figured that was as accurate as he could get, seeing the numerous amount of islands in the Caribbean and that this was surely a secret island. Yet Harry couldn't feel the underlying magic like he could at Hogwarts. He wondered if electronic Muggle devices could be used here. Benson's speech cut through Harry's thoughts. "On your left, the last thing you will see before we get to your rooms is the blitzball lake. Merlin University have the only official leagues in the world, so don't be discouraged to try out for the teams. No one else has played an actual game either so the playing field is mostly level. We have five teams in the junior league, which is made up mostly of first and second year players, whereas the senior league has people from mostly the older years with a few talented first years and only four teams. The five teams in the junior league are the Merfolk, the Leviathans, the Kappas, the Grindylows, and the Kelpies. The senior league's teams are the Sting Rays, the Orcas, the Hammerheads, and the Giant Squid. I recommend you all try out and see if a team will draft you. The rules of the game will be posted in a common living space. Now, the dorms."

"You all have your room assignments, sent to you in your letter. You are either in Flamel Hall or the Ptolemy Building. Please, go to your rooms and get yourselves situated. There will be a more detailed schedule of activities in your room; We will see you tomorrow." With that, Benson disapparated with a pop. The group of students milled about for a moment, reaching around in their bags for their letters, trying to find what room they were in. Harry dug into his pocket and pulled it out.

"Feint's Room: Wraith House." Harry's letter proclaimed at the bottom of the parchment.

Harry turned to his classmates. "Where the hell is Wraith House?"

Sarah pointed to something over his shoulder. "My guess would be the building that has the Wraith House sign on it."

Harry turned to see where she was gesturing. Down a slightly curving path sat a brick, two-story house with white shutters and doors. It had a both a front porch and a balcony protruding out of the stone, adorned with garden furniture. Some basic landscaping, with a few flowers and shrubbery gave the building a comfortable look. As Harry stepped onto the front porch, he noticed that the balcony actually wrapped around both sides and most likely around the back as well. Harry thought to himself, "This will be a fun place to hang out."

The group passed the threshold to their new home. The decor wasn't inviting, but not bleak either. It seemed functional for a group of seven young adults. The main floor had a kitchen, dining room and a large space furnished with couches and a fireplace. Harry poked his head into a door to find a set of stairs leading to the basement. The wooden steps gave the impression that it was unfinished; the assumption was correct. It was a large room with concrete floors and walls. Actually, Harry thought, this room is massive. It must have been magically enhanced. Harry pointed this out to Patrick, who shrugged, unable to find a reason. The two moved back to the main level, noticing that everyone else had moved upstairs.

Harry walked upstairs to find the level divided into two wings. To the left seemed to be the girls' wing, as he heard giggles that did not come from Shallanor or Marco. He moved to the right and came upon a small room with five doors. Four of them had a different nametag over each, naming the rooms as the home of, "Feint", "Warden", "Pyre" and "Sphinx". Marco was in the room labeled Sphinx and seeing as Patrick was heading towards Warden he assumed Shallanor was in Pyre. Harry opened the door, seeing a small house elf standing in a room decorated exactly like a scaled down model of the Gryffindor Boys Dormitory. The house elf, who was dressed in a tiny butler's tuxedo, made a polite "Ahem" that reminded Harry of Umbridge, before speaking.

"Master Feint, the house elves are told to decorate the rooms exactly as the students last occupancy. Unfortunately, we were unable to gain access to yours." The house elf bowed his head. "Never have I failed Master Hinjo before. I am so sorry."

Harry suppressed a laugh. During the war, the Light had used house elves to their advantage. Time and time again, Lord Voldemort had underestimated their power and the Light used it to their full benefit. Yet this also gave both sides an eventual healthy appreciation for the small beings, and many additional wards were created to help fend off unwanted elves. Harry had implemented them at Florean's; he assumed that this was the first time anyone had ever rebuffed an elf magically in this manner.

"Don't worry about it, um...," Harry stuttered. "What's your name?"

"My name is Purble, Master Feint." The elf said in a low bow, his nose touching the red carpeted floor.

"Well, Purble, this can work with a few changes. Can you tone down the color a bit? After living in a room with just wood, all of this seems a little gaudy to me." Harry failed to mention that it was especially gaudy in comparison to the cupboard he lived in for ten years, but that was an unnecessary addition. Purble bowed low, and snapped his fingers. All of the furnishings and walls seemed to be bleeding color to the floor, until all that was left were a muted red and yellow color. "Also," Harry began to add, "could you..." He trailed off as he saw what he was going to ask for.

"Purble looked through all of your belongings and made adjustments to the room accordingly."

"Thank you, Purble. Will you be here all year?" Harry inquired.

"Purble will be assigned to the Master Wraiths until they have permanently left the school." He replied.

"Okay, then I have a few things to ask of you. First, why are you calling me Master Feint? My name is Harry."

"That is your Wraith codename, sir. I will use it because it will help you get accustomed to hearing it in relationship to yourself."

"Okay, I guess." Harry seemed unsure about this, but he shrugged it off. "Also, I wanted to ask you why the basement is so large. Is there a specific purpose for it?"

"Master Hinjo has told me to make it large in case the Messrs. and Ladies wish to host a party in the recent future."

"A party, eh? I think I can handle that. Can we use electronic, Muggle devices on the island?"

"Yes sir, as long as you stay away from the special magic-practice rooms, you can use them anywhere on the island."

Harry nodded his acknowledgment.

"Is there anything else pressing that I need to take care of Purble?"

"No sir."

Harry stroked his chin. "Okay, does this house have a Floo connection?"

Purble nodded. "The fireplace downstairs is connected."

"Brilliant. That is all for now, and thank you Purble for making my room up." Harry smiled at the elf, who responded in kind before snapping his fingers and disapparating.

Harry sauntered out of his room to see Marco and Patrick sitting on some couches that had appeared in the common room. Harry called out to Shallanor, asking him to join them, then walked over to the girls' common room. He knocked and opened the door.

Inside was a much more stylish version of what was on the other end of the house. The colors were bright and cheerful, almost too much for Harry to handle. Curious, Harry looked to see what codenames they had been given. The three nametags read "Dervish", "Arachne" and "Bonnie". Harry had a few inklings about which code represented which person, but he knew he would find out more later. He called out to the three girls and asked them to come to the boys' common room. They followed him and sat down, interspersed on the couches and waited for Harry to speak.

"It seems like the Headmaster expects us to throw a party at some point, evidenced by the large basement. I think we should try and do it tonight, as a way to meet other people and get a feel for the student body here. I'm thinking opening up the house to the new class, provide music and drinks, and see where it goes from there. Does that sound like a feasible idea?"

Shallanor stood up and clapped loudly, then started rubbing his hands vigorously. "Oh boy! This sounds like my kind of deal! I know some people that could get us a few kegs of superb Greek beer." His eyes were alight with a fire that Harry had only seen matched before the Weasley twins pulled off a prank. The rest of the Wraiths gave him odd looks, with a small bit of laughter running through the room.

"We know a guy who could provide us with a barrel of tequila straight from the banks of Mount Jalisco." Marco said with a laugh. "He'd probably send us enough limes and salt to finish it, too."

"And I know some people who can hook us up with anything else we need," Harry continued, thinking again of the Weasley twins and their penchant for a lifestyle more in line with Muggle teenagers than Wizarding adults. "All we need now is a theme. Any ideas?"

Nikki immediately piped in. "Do an island theme, before people take it for granted. I mean, we are in the perfect setting for one."

Harry started to feel his excitement grow at this party. "Okay, so there is a Floo connection on the first floor, you probably saw it when you walked in. I'm going to use it first and see if I can get some more variety for drinks as well as some music. Purble!"

Purble immediately appeared in the center of the room, facing Harry. "Yes, Master Feint?"

"Can you help Patrick and Sarah create a flyer announcing our party tonight, then have them delivered to every first year room on the campus?"

"Most certainly, Master Feint. There is a special office that is downstairs we can use to create an original, then Purble will copy and deliver them himself!" Purble nearly ran out the door, with Patrick and Sarah, looking a little bewildered, but still following behind.

Harry walked out at a more leisurely pace and headed to the fireplace. He grabbed some Floo powder from a jar above the mantel, threw the green crystals into the fire and yelled, "Weasley's Wheeze's Apartment!"

Placing his head into the fire, he called out to the twins. Fred appeared and told Harry to come right over. Harry had to brace himself, knowing how much he disliked this mode of travel. Harry popped out of the fire in a heap, and after dusting himself off, shook Fred's hand and waved to George, who was sitting in the other room finishing a meal.

"So, what do we owe the honor of the new college boy coming to visit two lowly businessmen?" Fred asked with a sly grin.

"I have a few favors to ask. You guys mind helping me out?"

"Not at all, Harry." George responded, sitting himself down on one of two high backed green leather chairs. What do you need?"

"Well," Harry said. "There is going to be a large house warming party at my new residence in a few hours and I was wondering if you two knew of any Squib or Wizarding DJ's or bands that could provide some music at a short notice."

The two twins looked at each other, and responded in unison. "DJ Wandless."

"Really? Can I talk to him?"

"Her, Harry. Did you expect a male...,"

" ...to have a name like DJ Wandless? The implications...," George continued.

"...are disturbing, to say the least." Both twins laughed at the thought and Harry blushed a little in embarrassment.

"So can I meet her? Is she not working tonight?"

"Well, most Tuesday nights are really slow in the clubbing business, so yes, tonight is one of her nights off. If you pay her well enough, she would be willing to do a freelance job."

"How much would a full night's of music be worth?" Harry asked, hoping he could afford it.

"If we ask her, we could probably get you a discount, so estimate around 25 galleons for the night."

Harry inwardly sighed. With the stipend he received from MU, he could easily cover that.

"Do you guys remember that punch you made when we graduated from Hogwarts? Think you could make some of that again on short notice?"

"Well," George started.

"I think all this work deserves some sort of payment, don't you George?" Fred continued with a grin.

"Quite what I was thinking, Fred."

"Harry, for us to do all of these things, I'm thinking you should let us come to this party of yours."

"What better payment than allowing us to get down with a good amount of young, college women?" George stroked his goatee.

"None that I can think of George."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Fine." Harry grabbed a spare quill and a scrap of parchment and wrote the coordinates of the apparition point near his house. "This is where the party will be. Make sure DJ Wandless gets there, alright? I'm sure she won't be able to make it without your assistance."

"With pleasure." The twins replied. They stood up and shook Harry's hand before heading towards the door.

"Quite a lot to do. We'll see you at the party!"

"One second!" Harry called out. "There is a theme to the party. It's a beach, island theme."

"Thanks mon!" George said with a Jamaican accent.

Fred and George stepped out onto their porch and with two near-indistinguishable pops, they had Apparated to wherever they were going.

Harry rolled his eyes at the two, then grabbed a handful of Floo. This tropical party was fallling together nicely. Hopefully it turned out as well as the short planning would allow.

"The Wraith House!"

A flash of emerald fire consumed Harry with a whoosh, transporting him to the party.

***************************************************************************

Harry opened his eyes, a ray of sunshine playing across his features in a tantalizing rhythm. It was lost on him, as his head was throbbing, the sunlight burning his irises into submission. He rolled out of bed in a stupor and managed to close the curtains, blessing his room with darkness. He opened his eyes, immediately realizing three things: One, he was completely naked. Two, there was an attractive brunette sleeping on the other side of his bed. Three, he had no idea what happened last night. As Harry started to process these things, the brunette rolled over, revealing a fourth fact. She was also completely naked.

Harry stealthily bolted from the room, grabbing a bathrobe conveniently placed on a hook between the window and the door. After quietly closing the door and wrapping himself in the robe, he leaned against the oaken door and slid to the red carpeted floor. How could he not remember anything? Harry wracked his thoughts for a solution, which was almost as painful as the sun in his eyes.

"Purble!" Harry called out in a harsh whisper.

With a light pop, Purble arrived, kneeling next to Harry's sitting form.

"Yes, Master Feint? How can Purble help?" The house elf must have realized something was up as he had spoken in barely a whisper.

"Can you get a hangover and blackout potion? I remember having at least one left in my suitcase, but don't know where it is. Can you quietly look in my room for it?" Harry pleaded with the regal elf.

"Yes, Master Feint. I will return momentarily."

Purble was not joking, it was almost three seconds before he returned.

"Here it is, Master, along with your bottle of water."

"Thank you, Purble. I truly appreciate it."

Harry looked at the vile-looking black potion. He supposed it was ironic, the potion meant to remove the memory blocks from a blackout was in fact, black, but he got over the notion and drained the vial and started drinking his water.

As the headache parted, the rush of memories flowed back to Harry with lucidity.

"Oh."


End file.
